Bad times bring out the best

JANE LOPES, Hathaway News Service

Thursday

Feb 26, 2009 at 12:50 PM

In some ways, running a food pantry has never been more difficult. In a region where the unemployment rate hit 8 percent or more by the end of 2008, the number of people whose basic needs exceed their incomes has dramatically increased. Meanwhile, potential donors are finding their resources stretched thin.

And yet the volunteers who operate local food pantries are finding that in many cases their donations are on the rise, with money and goods coming from unexpected sources.

Bill Pye, director of the Sacred Heart Food Pantry in Middleboro, is still talking about the man who stopped by around the holidays.

"He had a check for $500, his Christmas bonus, and he came in to give it to us," Mr. Pye said. "One of our volunteers, a high school student, was here at the time and he couldn't believe it, but we get people like that. A lot of them."

Directors of food pantries in Dartmouth, Acushnet/Fairhaven, Fall River and Somerset also said that while they always need help — from volunteers as well as donors — they have been surprised by the generosity of local residents and organizations even now that the holiday season, traditionally a time for generosity to others, is long over and this time of year is generally a tough one for non-profits.

Food pantries are facilities where families and individuals who meet income guidelines, generally similar to those required to participate in state and federal programs, can visit on a monthly basis to receive non-perishable foods, personal care items and in some cases bakery goods, meats and produce to supplement their household food supplies. The facilities are generally operated by local church groups or other non-profit organizations, although some, like the food pantry run by the Dartmouth Council on Aging, are affiliated with municipal departments.

Of the food pantries discussed in this article, all but the COA facility obtain much of their food supplies from the Greater Boston Food Bank. The Boston food bank itself depends on donations and the local food pantries pay for some of the food they receive from the Boston facility. The Middleboro food pantry spent $6,589 at the Boston food bank last year, while director Bill Pye estimates the total cost of operating the local food pantry at around $13,000. About 75 percent of the Middleboro food pantries stock comes from the Boston food bank. Others estimate the amount they obtain from Boston at between 30 to 50 percent or more of their total stock.

For the remainder of the food and other items they provide, all the food pantries are dependent on donors ranging from individuals to local organizations that run food drives on behalf of the food pantries each year. All the directors said local postal workers organize regular food drives every year that bring in much-needed donations from residents. This year, they are also hearing from new donors.

Gerry Payette, who coordinates food drives and fund-raisers for the Shepherd's Pantry in Acushnet, said many people haven't waited to be asked to help out as the economic situation in the region has worsened in recent months.

"There's a connection between how bad the situation is and the level

In some ways, running a food pantry has never been more difficult. In a region where the unemployment rate hit 8 percent or more by the end of 2008, the number of people whose basic needs exceed their incomes has dramatically increased. Meanwhile, potential donors are finding their resources stretched thin.

And yet the volunteers who operate local food pantries are finding that in many cases their donations are on the rise, with money and goods coming from unexpected sources.

Bill Pye, director of the Sacred Heart Food Pantry in Middleboro, is still talking about the man who stopped by around the holidays.

"He had a check for $500, his Christmas bonus, and he came in to give it to us," Mr. Pye said. "One of our volunteers, a high school student, was here at the time and he couldn't believe it, but we get people like that. A lot of them."

Directors of food pantries in Dartmouth, Acushnet/Fairhaven, Fall River and Somerset also said that while they always need help — from volunteers as well as donors — they have been surprised by the generosity of local residents and organizations even now that the holiday season, traditionally a time for generosity to others, is long over and this time of year is generally a tough one for non-profits.

Food pantries are facilities where families and individuals who meet income guidelines, generally similar to those required to participate in state and federal programs, can visit on a monthly basis to receive non-perishable foods, personal care items and in some cases bakery goods, meats and produce to supplement their household food supplies. The facilities are generally operated by local church groups or other non-profit organizations, although some, like the food pantry run by the Dartmouth Council on Aging, are affiliated with municipal departments.

Of the food pantries discussed in this article, all but the COA facility obtain much of their food supplies from the Greater Boston Food Bank. The Boston food bank itself depends on donations and the local food pantries pay for some of the food they receive from the Boston facility. The Middleboro food pantry spent $6,589 at the Boston food bank last year, while director Bill Pye estimates the total cost of operating the local food pantry at around $13,000. About 75 percent of the Middleboro food pantries stock comes from the Boston food bank. Others estimate the amount they obtain from Boston at between 30 to 50 percent or more of their total stock.

For the remainder of the food and other items they provide, all the food pantries are dependent on donors ranging from individuals to local organizations that run food drives on behalf of the food pantries each year. All the directors said local postal workers organize regular food drives every year that bring in much-needed donations from residents. This year, they are also hearing from new donors.

Gerry Payette, who coordinates food drives and fund-raisers for the Shepherd's Pantry in Acushnet, said many people haven't waited to be asked to help out as the economic situation in the region has worsened in recent months.

"There's a connection between how bad the situation is and the level of giving," Mr. Payette said. "The people who give the most are those who don't have it. They understand the need."

Blanche Pepin, the administrator of Shepherd's Pantry, said local businesses have been going out of their way to help out. Gloria and Company, an Acushnet day spa, held an event and asked customers to bring in store gift cards. They sent $400 worth of cards to the food pantry.

"Right now people just understand the situation so many people are in, and it's really heartwarming," Ms. Pepin said, although she was surprised to receive an anonymous note with a bank check for $500 recently.

Still, the need is greater each month and none of the food pantries turn away anyone looking for assistance, although some, like the food pantry in Middleboro and the COA in Dartmouth, limit participation to area or local residents.

George Paiva, director of the food pantry at the Church of Our Saviour in Somerset, said the food pantry served an average of 100 families a month in 2004, while the average increased to 175 last year. The food pantry distributed a total of 71,773 pounds of food last year, an increase of more than 11,000 over the year before.

The Somerset pantry, like the one in Middleboro, is a "client choice" facility, set up like a grocery store where participants can select their own food and personal items on a point system. Other food pantries prepare bags or boxes of items that are distributed to participants based on household size.

The Somerset food pantry is open twice a month but asks participants not to come more than once. Over 2,300 households were served last year, receiving food items that represented about 97,000 meals.

Susan Pierce, the secretary to the director of the Dartmouth COA, said that while the COA food pantry is relatively small, serving about 25 families a week on average, "people we have never seen before are coming in." The Friends of the Dartmouth Council on Aging provide volunteers for the program, which operates daily during the COA's operating hours and is restricted to Dartmouth residents who are asked to stop in no more than once a month.

"We haven't had to turn anyone away, but the reality is, that could happen the way things are going," Mr. Paiva said.

Phil Gregoire, director of the St. Anne's Church Food Pantry in Fall River, said his program is adding about 10 families a week these days, "and that's a lot for us."

"We opened a little over two years ago with probably close to 80 participants a month, and now we're up to over 500," Mr. Gregoire said. "We started growing significantly a couple months ago."

The St. Anne's food pantry has been fortunate to have donors who bring bread, beverages, fresh produce and other items, and to have the refrigeration facilities to stock meat as well as dry goods. The pantry, which distributed about 45,000 pounds of food and other items including some baby supplies last year, has doubled in size as the number of people it serves has grown, and the number of volunteers has increased from two to more than 20.

More volunteers are always needed by all the food pantries as the need for their services increases.

At the Sacred Heart food pantry in Middleboro, which also provides some meats and fresh produce as well as some personal items, a total of 6,787 people were served in 2008 — including 196 new households — with the food items representing 117,435 meals. Like the other facilities, the Middleboro food pantry depends on volunteer labor and needs people to help pick up food at the Greater Boston Food Bank, sort items that are acquired there and donated from other sources, stock shelves and help customers. The core of the volunteer group is the local St. Vincent de Paul Society, which became involved with the food pantry as a way to make connections with the local people the organization helps in a variety of other ways, including fuel assistance and cash aid to help out with rent or mortgage payments.

Shepherd's Pantry in Acushnet was initiated by a group of five churches in Fairhaven and currently operates out of the Long Plain United Methodist Church in Acushnet, where parishioners have added their support to the program. Administrator Blanche Pepin said there is a core of volunteers from the churches who have been working at the food pantry for the nine years it has been in operation.

George Paiva, the director of the Somerset food pantry, said volunteers worked a total of 2,120 hours last year. A surprising number of those hours were worked by food pantry clients.

"They come by, grab their own food, put it in their car and stick around for the rest of the time we're open, helping out," Mr. Paiva said.

For details about the food pantries mentioned here, see the information box accompanying this article.

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